Ernie the Attorney

How to Start a Weblog - Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Say Whatever the Hell I Felt like Saying to a Bunch of People I Never Met

Well how I started doing this weblog thing is a weak story.  No plot.  Lots of characters.  Mostly random events.  So the odds are that the movie rights will never be sold.  But somehow I did it and now it's part of my daily ritual.   What do I get out of it?  Well, a lot but let's not get philosophical.  This is a "how-to" piece for those that are seredipitously inclined like I was.

First, you need to read this piece by Philip Greenspun.  He's a web-guru and MIT tech-wizard, but he's also a very good writer.  Why?  Because he writes from the heart.  How do you learn to write a blog from the heart?  You just do it.  Just post something.  Anything.  You can delete it if you want. 

What are you going to write?  I don't know.  Neither do you.  That's the plot question.  I'm interested in how it turns out.  Are you?

Who are you going to write about?  Well, people that you know.  Or people that you don't know but whose lives you are interested in.  So those are your characters.  You'll find yourself becoming more observant as you look for details you will use to describe people.  Like a photographer who learns to see the composition potential of a certain scene before she pushes the shutter button.  And like a photographer you'll take a lot of pictures and throw a lot out.  Some you'll keep and use.  Then you'll analyze why you kept those.  And so on.  You'll learn to write in a way that seems comfortable.  But then you'll wonder who you are writing for and what they think of what you've written.

Soon you'll add the comment feature on your blog and then you'll start getting feedback.  Some of it you'll like.  A lot of it you won't.  You'll have to develop a thick skin.  Because people have a right to their opinion just like you have a right to yours.  After the shock wears off see if you can see some merit to the harsh comments.   There will be some harsh comments.   Hopefully you'll learn to open yourself up to the possibility of a different perspective.  Hopefully, you'll grow.

After a while maybe you'll get bored, or maybe you'll write about different things, or you'll move on and stop blogging.  But before you do, stop and do one thing.  Show someone else how to create a blog and encourage them to offer up what they have to say.  We all have something to say, and there are people out there who appreciate us saying it.   That's what blogging is all about.  It's not a major motion picture.  It's just plain old life. 

Jump in and give it a try...

After you do and want some resources check this post out.

Last update: 11/10/2003; 12:29:03 PM.